Vietnam repatriates American soldier’s remains

U.S. service members conduct a ceremony to repatriate remains of a U.S. soldier killed in the Vietnam War at Da Nang International Airport, July 23, 2019. Photo courtesy of the U.S Embassy in Hanoi.

The likely remains of an American soldier were repatriated at a solemn ceremony held in Da Nang on Sunday.

The ceremony took place at Da Nang International Airport in central Vietnam with the participation of representatives from both countries.

The remains were discovered during a joint Vietnam-U.S. search from May 9 to June 23, 2019. They were examined by forensic experts from two countries who concluded that they could belong to a U.S. soldier designated missing in action during the Vietnam War. The remains will be transferred to the U.S. Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency's laboratory in Hawaii for further tests.

More than 130 Americans and their Vietnamese partners joined the search mission, excavating sites in Quang Nam, Quang Binh, and Thua Thien Hue Provinces in central Vietnam, and Quang Ninh and Vinh Phuc in the north.

Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Bui Thanh Son reaffirmed the goodwill and humanitarian policy of Vietnam in helping the U.S. finding the remains of MIA (missing in action) soldiers.

Cooperation between the U.S. and Vietnam have found 727 American soldiers who died in the Vietnam War. There are 1,246 Americans still unaccounted-for in Vietnam from the war.